CVE-2025-68161

Description

The Socket Appender in Apache Log4j Core versions 2.0-beta9 through 2.25.2 does not perform TLS hostname verification of the peer certificate, even when the verifyHostName https://logging.apache.org/log4j/2.x/manual/appenders/network.html#SslConfiguration-attr-verifyHostName configuration attribute or the log4j2.sslVerifyHostName https://logging.apache.org/log4j/2.x/manual/systemproperties.html#log4j2.sslVerifyHostName system property is set to true. This issue may allow a man-in-the-middle attacker to intercept or redirect log traffic under the following conditions: * The attacker is able to intercept or redirect network traffic between the client and the log receiver. * The attacker can present a server certificate issued by a certification authority trusted by the Socket Appender’s configured trust store (or by the default Java trust store if no custom trust store is configured). Users are advised to upgrade to Apache Log4j Core version 2.25.3, which addresses this issue. As an alternative mitigation, the Socket Appender may be configured to use a private or restricted trust root to limit the set of trusted certificates.

CVSS v3.1 Score

4.8

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-297 CWE-297

CWE-295 CWE-295

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
apache	log4j	2.0.1 — 2.25.3
apache	log4j	All
apache	log4j	All
apache	log4j	All
apache	log4j	All
apache	log4j	All

References

Advisories & Patches

https://github.com/apache/logging-log4j2/pull/4002 https://logging.apache.org/cyclonedx/vdr.xml https://logging.apache.org/security.html#CVE-2025-68161

Exploits

https://logging.apache.org/security.html#CVE-2025-68161

Other References

https://lists.apache.org/thread/xr33kyxq3sl67lwb61ggvm1fzc8k7dvx https://logging.apache.org/log4j/2.x/manual/appenders/network.html#SslConfiguration-attr-verifyHostName https://logging.apache.org/log4j/2.x/manual/systemproperties.html#log4j2.sslVerifyHostName http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2025/12/18/1 https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2026/01/msg00015.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-68161? +

The Socket Appender in Apache Log4j Core versions 2.0-beta9 through 2.25.2 does not perform TLS hostname verification of the peer certificate, even when the verifyHostName https://logging.apache.org/log4j/2.x/manual/appenders/network.html#SslConfiguration-attr-verifyHostName configuration attribute or the log4j2.sslVerifyHostName https://logging.apache.org/log4j/2.x/manual/systemproperties.html#log4j2.sslVerifyHostName system property is set to true. This issue may allow a man-in-the-middle attacker to intercept or redirect log traffic under the following conditions: * The attacker is able to intercept or redirect network traffic between the client and the log receiver. * The attacker can present a server certificate issued by a certification authority trusted by the Socket Appender’s configured trust store (or by the default Java trust store if no custom trust store is configured). Users are advised to upgrade to Apache Log4j Core version 2.25.3, which addresses this issue. As an alternative mitigation, the Socket Appender may be configured to use a private or restricted trust root to limit the set of trusted certificates. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.8 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2025-68161? +

CVE-2025-68161 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 4.8 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.

What products are affected by CVE-2025-68161? +

CVE-2025-68161 affects products from apache, specifically: log4j. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2025-68161? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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